Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for her answer. I am sure farmers would be interested to know whether after a rainy day they are supposed to get out a harrow and run around the paddock and harrow in all the manure or whether they are supposed to rake it up somewhere and burn it or maybe put it in a big pile somewhere and do something else with it. It is a very genuine question because the minister obviously is not able to manage that. I appreciate that it is very complex legislation, but it is on the list. As a Nationals senator—even though, as the minister says, I have indicated very strongly my view that this tax should not go forward—it is entirely appropriate that I ask these questions on behalf of farmers. I think that they will be extremely disappointed, to say the least, that the minister is not able to give any clear indication of what that manure management is going to be.

If I could just return to 259C(4), which is about the domestic offsets program reporting and that there be a prescribed audit report prepared by an auditor. I think you referred to them before as ‘gibos’; I was not quite sure. I do apologise if you mentioned a number, but you indicated to the chamber that it had not yet been determined how many of those reporters would be in place. Just in terms of agriculture, could the minister perhaps indicate to the chamber very roughly how many of those persons would be in place to provide that reporting mechanism for the farmers?